U of S launches new four-year strategic plan

by NationTalk onMarch 6, 2012138 Views

For Immediate Release – March 6, 2012
2012-03-04-OTHER

Today, the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) Board of Governors approved Promise and Potential – the University of Saskatchewan’s third integrated plan. Promise and Potential describes the university-wide strategies the U of S will follow to advance their academic priorities.

Building upon the successes from the first and second integrated plans, Promise and Potential aims to improve U of S research performance, increase engagement with Aboriginal people, strengthen relationships with communities, and follow a more co-ordinated approach to the inclusion of Aboriginal cultures, languages and symbols on campus.Brett Fairbairn, U of S Provost and Vice-President Academic, says the plan will guide the university’s decision making over the next four years, a period he labels as “possibility and constraint”.

“There is a huge desire and demand for innovation originating from our universities,” says Fairbairn, “but there are limited resources and financial pressures that constrain our flexibility. Promise and Potential will be our guide, whether we have relatively more or fewer resources at our disposal, and we will invest our time, energy and other resources in the areas we have identified as most important.”

Students, for instance, will see expanding involvement in research, experiential learning, and study-abroad opportunities.

During the year-long development process, hundreds of people participated in the process, including faculty, staff, students and alumni. People from around the province were also consulted through the university’s Regional Advisory Councils, and both the City of Saskatoon and the Saskatoon Health Region were invited to contribute.

“This plan is not the work of one set of hands or of one mind, but of many hands and many minds,” said Fairbairn. “Our plan was accepted unanimously at University Council and the Board of Governors, and it truly does represent a consensus about our priorities for the coming years.”

A pdf copy of Promise and Potential and its supporting documents, the Multi-Year Budget Framework and Multi-Year Capital Plan, is available online at www.usask.ca/plan.